Once Upon A Time
by coffees
Summary: The people around Richard Castle vastly underestimate his wrath, and when the one who holds the key to his heart is threatened, he will stop at nothing to keep her safe. Castle/Beckett with lots of drama, angst, suspense, and tragedy.
1. Unintentional

The 12th Precinct was in hysterics as Beckett casually made her way to her desk, staring at the crazed flow of people trying to get past the restraints and populate the workplace. They had seen this type of behavior before; when Castle started to consult for the detectives, a lot of people tried to get the inside scoop just because he had to post it on all of his feeds. Kate thought that the man should be a little more discreet – he was a highly revered author, after all. He can't wander around with a sword prop from The Lord of The Rings and expect nobody to notice.

She sat down and pulled out the drawer to fill out some technical information related to the case she had closed merely yesterday. The suspect was easy to catch; it wasn't meant to happen. It's never meant to happen. Just like she wasn't supposed to live, but there she was; breathing… living. Beckett pulled down her sleeve, conscious of the huge cast on her arm from her attacks a few days ago. The high-profile case of a sniper killing off innocent, successful people had really gotten to her and even worsened her condition, which wasn't too good to start off with. It was only a matter of time before she would break down again. But next time, Kate Beckett will be ready.

Her partner, Castle, was not present. She knew that he wouldn't come around just for paperwork, but she did know one thing. Castle loved her. It was a hard thing to accept at first, but she realized this as she had dropped to the floor, clinging on to the last shred of hope she had as the life drained out of her eyes as he caressed her; at a funeral, no less. What better place is there to get shot? During his brief visit with her at the hospital after her surgery, he had asked her if she remembered anything. She lied straight to his face. She told him she needed time; she needed to think things over. But, in reality, she needed to come to amends with what she had become… and she still hasn't. Beckett started to believe that it was impossible to change so late in her life, that she should just stick to the obsessed bookworm she was.

But she wanted to be more than she was. She had told that to her therapist, and he had agreed to help in whatever way possible. She wanted to change for the better, and finally be able to face even the slightest mention of her mother's murder without tearing up. That was her dream, and her goal. Beckett wanted all this just so that she would have a shot with the man she loved, Richard Castle. Realizing her thoughts were straying, the detective stared at the paperwork, reading it over in her head as slowly as possible. It's funny how things like that can erase thoughts from your mind.

She was a little surprised at how readily she was able to accept to loving her partner, and it scared her a little bit. She did want to be with him, it did seem like a good idea, but at the same time… she didn't. It was a funny thing. Kate finished up the last few documents, put them in the correctly labeled folder, and slid it into one of her desk drawers. Tomorrow, she would check over everything and file it away with the rest of the cases she had worked on.

Beckett stood up, pushed in the rolling chair, swiped up her red trench coat and slung it over her shoulder, heading for the elevator. Today was a pretty laid-back day, she thought aimlessly. The paperwork had successfully taken her mind off of things it shouldn't be on, and she was proud of herself for being able to do so. Still, it haunted the back of her mind; she wasn't all she wanted to be.


	2. Hidden

Beckett got to her apartment, and took her keys from inside her pocket. She was quite looking forward to running a nice, hot bath and reading a book. It would get her mind off of things, just like she wanted. It was better to put off any relationships until she got through this. But Castle's words to her the night before the captain died still struck her.

You're hiding in relationships with men you don't love.

Kate opened up the broad door and stepped inside, ready to finally devote some time to her. As much as closed cases had their own appeal, sometimes all the detective was a day off to sleep in, and maybe eat some chocolate. She loved chocolate; it was her comfort food. Beckett's eyes screamed with delight, and she smiled like a little kid when she picked up Heat Rises and made her way to the bath.

Here, at home, she didn't have to shield her emotions, or anything. She could just be open with herself. And when she threw her gray turtleneck into the hamper, she was reminded of the panic attacks she had only a few nights ago from the huge cast on her arm. She was hiding it well among her peers, and it stopped hurting a while ago, but she needed to take it off if she was going to ever get over it. Of course, it still hadn't healed so she would need the wrapping for a few days more, but for now, she would just caress it gently in her arms.

As Kate took the last of the gauze off of her arm, she inspected the wound. It was long, and deep, but the pain had turned numb an hour ago. She couldn't even feel it anymore; her body had tuned it out. It was funny how it turned out that way. She slipped into the tub – which was now full – and eased in, sighing. The feeling came back to her forearm, but only in the form of a little sting.

She picked up Castle's book and leaned back, happy to spend some time with a book. She felt like she hadn't done that in a while. And it was a book based on her, which made it extra special. She chuckled. This book was written by Richard Castle. The same man she was trying to stop thinking about. Just that moment, she remembered that he had already told two other women that he loved them – his past two wives – and it was safe to say that he probably didn't mean it either of those times. The same more than likely went for her. But Kate didn't mind; she hoped this was one of those small crushes that you always feel but never acted on. She hoped, she oh so very much hoped.

Just as she was settling into an hour of luxury, the bell rang. She jumped, almost getting her book wet. Who could come around at this hour? She selfishly wished it wasn't anyone too needy; a girl needs some time to herself, even the toughest of them all. Though, she wasn't so tough when it came to a select few…


	3. Spontaneous

**A/N: Sorry for how short the first two chapters were. They were just little fillers, but there will be tons of meat in this fiction once it heats up. I plan on writing at least ten chapters, if not more. Thank you for reading! If you could, please take a few seconds to review my work?**

"Castle? What are you doing here?" Kate had thrown on a bath robe and opened the door only to find Castle in the hallway. She didn't particularly want him, specifically, to show up at her doorstep, and didn't really want him to stay, but at the same time, was curious as to why he was there at that hour. She noticed his gaze had lowered to her chest, and was a little flustered.

"Hey, I'm up here." she scolded, meeting his blue eyes with hers. He looked slightly abashed, but shook it off as he ran into the apartment, a big smile on his face.

"You could use some fun!" he excitedly chimed, face glowing. Kate wondered what was going on with him, being so happy at such an hour. Well, then again, they were talking about Richard Castle – _expect the unexpected_.

"Castle, I've got something else planned." But, of course, the man who didn't know anything about personal space had already entered her bathroom and saw the mess she had left behind. Oh, and one book penned by himself. Kate sighed; there went another ego boost… _great_. However, Castle seemed like he was in an extremely good mood, so maybe he just wanted to come over and tell her something.

"And you're invading my privacy." Rolling her eyes, she strode over to where he was ogling the sight and smell of her bathroom. A sigh escaped her lips as Kate grabbed Castle's extremely large hand, and tugged it as she walked back out; scared that he might have caught a glimpse of the bloody gauze on the floor. "Do you know what a hint is?"

"Hey, calm down! I was just really bored."

"I see. And the first thing that popped into your head was to bother me?"

"Yes! It's like we have a connection between our minds!" He motions the "connection" with his hand.

"Don't start with that crap again, Castle. So, why are you really here?"

"I just told you."

"Well, did it ever occur to you that I had a date tonight?"

"Oh, you mean with my book? I never thought that you were serious about that."

"Oh, I hate you. I do."

There's a pause, and the author holds up his other hand. "Kate… what's this?" He uncurls his fist to show her, though she already knows. It's the gauze.

"It's a bad time, Castle. I'll call you." She comes up, snatches the bloody dressing, and walks over to the door. But he insisted on staying, and that's what scares her. She didn't know, as her therapist had predicted, what she was scared of more: that he would wait for her, or that he wouldn't. The answer was clear to her now; and she didn't like it. She didn't want him to wait, because he would have to wait for a very, very long time.

He walked up to her, holding her gaze, and the serious expression on his face just shreds her to pieces. "No. You know what? I've been there for you, and all you've ever done is push me away. I'm not going to just take this lying down anymore, Kate. You don't remember what happened during the shooting? Well, I'll tell you, Kate. I'll tell you. I was there. I tackled you down, but I was a second too late. And I thought you were dying. I seriously thought you were dying. I held you in my arms, and I watched the life drain out of you. And you know what? I told you I loved you. I thought I was too late, Kate. I thought I was too late."

Beckett knew all of this; she remembered everything. She wasn't ready to let Castle on about the truth just yet, but he had already decided ahead of time that he was going to put his heart out on his sleeve, if only to get slashed into a million pieces by none other than Kate Beckett. And she didn't want to be the one responsible for doing that. But she was absolutely mortified by how close his face was to hers; she was absolutely terrified by his speech.

"Castle…"

"I'm going to ask you again. Why do you have a long strip of bloody gauze?"

"I can't…"

"That's not good enough, Kate. Tell me the truth."

"It isn't that simple!"

It was unlike her to really snap at the writer, but she didn't stop there. Beckett was stressed enough by the recent turn of events; having Castle stand in and rub salt in her wounds didn't really make the anger go away. She just needed to direct it at someone; and Castle was the closest thing she had right now to a punching bag. She had been also been keeping the thought in the back of her mind that Castle had in fact said "I love you" to two other women and didn't mean it. How could she know this wasn't the same? And the odds weren't in her favor; she was just an attractive, bland city cop - nothing too special.

"Castle, you've said that to two other women in the past - two of them. You know, most people get married only once, but you had the privilege of marriage twice? So, what, you're like an 'if at once don't succeed try again' type of guy? How do I know you mean it? Are you going to kiss me in the middle of this sentence, like they do in the movies? Well, it's not going to work. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't fall for me, Castle. You can't jerk around with things like love."

The wound on her arm hurt like the flames of hell themselves, and Kate couldn't help but caress her forearm and shed a tear. Her eyes shot into Castle's soul like daggers, however, and he got the message, even if it wasn't intentional. _Beckett wasn't ready for a relationship, especially one with you_. He gently ran his fingers along the large gash, but Kate slapped it away before he could truly discern how much damage there was. Her eyes and her heart screamed for him to stay, but her mouth and her head coldly ordered for him to go.

He listened to her mouth, but not before planting his lips on her forehead.

"Castle, I swear…"

He left before she could finish off her thought, and the entire scene was a little dramatic. At least, in Beckett's eyes, it didn't go over too well.


End file.
